Author's Note: Well, thanks to so many of you requesting this update, and thanks to my own ability to actually be able to write this, here it is. The update. Worship me, and all that jazz.
Chapter 5
Bella expected some kind of sentencing, or perhaps the Queens deciding to kill Bella right then and there for her words. What she didn't expect was for the Queens to explode...all because Bella said she would end her own life.
"Don't you ever say something like that again!" Athenodora snarled from where she was now towering over Bella. "Your life is one of the most precious things in the world to us. Do you understand?"
Taken aback, Bella nodded without a thought, but then regained her backbone and steeled herself. "Heidi is the only person in the world who has dared to care for me. I'm not just going to step aside and let you kill her."
Athenodora snarled lowly at the thought that they didn't care about Bella, but Didyme put a hand on Athenodora's shoulder, calming her.
"I have a power, Isabella, and that power is the ability to see other people's bonds," Didyme started, her eyes still dark from the thought of Isabella's death. "So I know how much Heidi means to you, and you her. But she still betrayed us."
"To protect me," Bella protested, and Heidi could only stare at her, at a loss as to what to do or say. Usually anyone in Bella's position would have at least been beaten for talking back, but Bella was clearly special. And while she had quickly come to love Bella, she loved her Queens as well, and it went against everything she knew to stand by and let someone talk so rudely to the Queens like that.
"Right, I understand that. Still, a betrayal is a betrayal, and she must be punished," Didyme replied gently. She reached out to touch Bella's arm, but was surprised and hurt when Bella jerked her arm away before Didyme could do more than brush her fingers against the girl's shirt.
"I don't like being touched," Bella told Didyme tightly, noting how the three queens were frowning at her.
"And yet Heidi can touch you," Sulpicia stated, glaring at the woman in question. Realizing how quickly she and her fellow queens were upsetting Bella, she turned to Didyme and Athenodora. "We must discuss this situation thoroughly so as not to do anything that will upset Isabella further," she told them in a quiet voice, and both Athenodora and Didyme nodded, although Athenodora was clearly grumpy about how the entire situation was playing out. Sulpicia then turned to Jane and added, "Take Isabella and Heidi to Heidi's room and take care of all of Isabella's needs. Make sure nobody comes in and that they don't leave until we send for them."
"Yes, Mistress," Jane said with a curtsy. Bella looked ready to say something, but with a glance at Heidi, thought better of it. The human's shoulders slouched as she let out a loud exhale, as if it had taken everything she had to stand up to the three women, and she seemed to shrink in on herself. Heidi and Bella then followed Jane out of the room, Bella all too aware of the gazes of the three queens burning into her back.
Once the door closed, Sulpicia, Athenodora, and Didyme shared a look and returned to their thrones to talk.
"This isn't how I expected our meeting to go," Sulpicia admitted after a brief silence.
"It's true we could have handled our first encounter better, but it was a fragile situation to start with," Didyme said, trying to make Sulpicia feel better even while staying on track. "Right now, everything we do or say will affect our relationship with Isabella. We have to tread carefully or risk damaging our bond to hers."
"Heidi is the reason for all of this," Athenodora announced in a half-growl, crossing her arms over her chest and glowering at nothing in particular. "She actually chose to betray us, and that can't go unpunished. If our mate didn't harbor such feelings for her, she'd be burned on the spot, her previous loyalty to us be damned."
Didyme knew just how much loyalty meant to Athenodora, having been betrayed once when she was human that led to the death of her entire family. She knew she'd have to help Athenodora see the other side to Heidi's betrayal if she wanted Heidi to stay in one piece. And that would be necessary if the Queens wanted to avoid damaging their bond with Isabella. "Think about this," Didyme started, getting both Athenodora's and Sulpicia's intense focus. "Heidi has been loyal to us since the start, to the point where she is one of our most trusted guards. Yet she did betray us, all to protect Isabella. She didn't know who Isabella would be to us. She wasn't trying to keep our mate from us. She was just trying to keep a girl she had come to love alive."
"Love?" Athenodora and Sulpicia demanded at once, Athenodora snarling in fury, Sulpicia, just as angry, letting out a loud hiss.
"Yes, love," Didyme repeated, reaching out to take Sulpicia's hand, showing Heidi's and Bella's bond. "In such a short amount of time, Heidi and Isabella came to love each other. Not like lovers, I would be just as furious as you two if that were the case. No, Heidi and Isabella love each other like the closest of sisters."
"That better be the case," Athenodora grumbled, calmed by Didyme's words, as well as the fact that Sulpicia relaxed upon seeing their bond for herself. "Although it would be better if they had no bond at all."
"Do you really think so?" Didyme asked, causing Athenodora to scowl at her.
"What Didyme is saying," Sulpicia quickly cut in before Athenodora could try to argue, reading Didyme's thoughts. "Is that Heidi was one of our most trusted and loyal guards. Yet in the span of a couple of days, she was willing to betray us to try to save Isabella, knowing it would cost her her life. And that while we still need to punish Heidi for the betrayal, it would be best to keep her alive. Keeping someone who has been so loyal to us, and is now so loyal to Bella, would be the best outcome. This way we would have someone who would be willing to put down her life for us and for Isabella guarding our mate and keeping her safe."
Athenodora opened her mouth to argue some more, but then closed her mouth just as quickly, thinking it through. Sulpicia put her hand on Athenodora's arm, watching Athenodora's thought process.
"You're right," Athenodora admitted at last, albeit reluctantly. "But as you said, Heidi still has to be punished for what she did."
"So Heidi will be kept alive," Sulpicia said, more as an official announcement than a repetitive statement. "We do owe her, after all. Not just for her attempts at keeping Bella safe, regardless of how misguided they were, but for finding Isabella in the first place. If it wasn't for her taking an interest in Isabella and thinking we would like her, then who knows if we would have ever found our mate."
Speaking of owing Heidi brought another woman the three queens owed to mind, which made Sulpicia scowl involuntarily. While she had always wanted Alice Cullen to join her coven, this was a different situation. Alice Cullen wasn't hers, and she had given the Queens the greatest gift anyone could have asked for; their mate.
Well, for technicality's sake, Alice obviously hadn't actually handed Isabella over. But if it weren't for her, who knows how long it would have been until they found Isabella, and that was if they had found the girl at all.
Thinking back on it caused the memory to come to mind. When Gianna had called, saying that Alice Cullen had an important message for the Queens, Sulpicia had been delighted, thinking perhaps that Alice might actually be considering their offer of joining the Volturi, or at the very least, that the Cullens might need something from them. She always loved holding favors over other vampires' heads, after all.
However, it wasn't either one of Sulpicia's hopes. Instead, it was Alice Cullen doing them a favor, and while Sulpicia would have done anything to make sure Isabella still ended up in their lives, she hated owing anyone.
"Alice Cullen," Sulpicia had started with delight from her throne, her fellow queens turned towards the phone, curiosity in both of their eyes. "What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?"
"Actually, I wanted to do something for you," Alice had answered, which made Sulpicia frown.
Athenodora had scoffed. "And what does she think she can do for us?"
"Shh, let her speak," Didyme had whispered, although she also looked befuddled, as she also had no idea what Alice Cullen could do for them outside of joining their coven.
"Continue," Sulpicia ordered, all cheerfulness gone from her voice. Now, she wanted to get to the bottom of Alice's call as quickly as possible.
"As you all know, Heidi has found a deliciously smelling human that she thinks you will enjoy feeding off of."
"And?" Athenodora demanded, cutting Alice off before she could continue.
"Calm yourself, sister," Sulpicia said, shooting Athenodora an exasperated look. "You're only making this take longer than necessary." She then turned back to the phone, adding, "I apologize for the disruption, Alice."
"It's no problem," Alice was quick to reply. "Anyways, I had a vision of her and the human, a girl named Bella. They're going to arrive in the airport closest to Volterra as planned, but then the future splits into two paths. One is that she and Bella will arrive at your castle with no problems. The other choice Heidi will make is to run away with Bella to save her life."
"What?" Athenodora exploded, furious. "Heidi? Betraying us? For a human?" She was all but shaking in her anger, feeling an incredible urge to destroy everything. Sulpicia's eyes had also turned black, just as angry at the thought of one of their most trusted and loved members even thinking of betraying them to the point where she couldn't even say anything in response, staring off into the distance, probably imagining getting her hands on Heidi. While Didyme felt the same, she was able to contain herself the most.
Keeping her composure, Didyme took the phone from Sulpicia before the other queen could crush it. "For you to call simply to warn us of a possible betrayal...this isn't like you, Alice. You're not one to get into other people's business unless it has something to do with you or your family."
"That's because I want you all to be happy," Alice stated, her words once again getting the attention of all three queens. Alice, caring about their happiness? She had to have known this would make them furious, but in the first place, why would Alice care in the first place? "The reason for my call isn't just to tell you about Heidi. It's because the human that is with her is your mate. The mate of all three queens, to be precise."
Of course the three queens in question had been stunned to hear that, and the time after that had been a whirlwind, trying to prepare for all that was going to happen. A mate for anyone in their coven was a big deal, but for it to be the mate for all three queens, after so many years without one...there couldn't be a more important moment in Volterra. To be juggling preparations for Bella's arrival, and to make sure they would catch Heidi in case she would really betray them, caused quite a bit of chaos. But in the end, Bella had ended up right where she belonged. Yet their meeting couldn't have gone worse.
"We should tell them of our decision," Didyme said, breaking Sulpicia out of her trip down memory lane. "No need to make our mate worry unnecessarily."
"Don't send for them," Sulpicia said, stopping Athenodora from beckoning to Felix. "We should go ourselves to make things feel a little more informal for Isabella. Perhaps it would get her to relax a little more and see we are more than cruel queens."
Athenodora nodded in agreement; after all, despite her quick temper and constantly grumpy exterior, not to mention her current terrible mood, Athenodora wanted to make Bella happy. Wanted Bella to be comfortable around her, to love her, the whole shebang, to the point that she would do anything necessary to ensure as such.
Of course, Didyme felt the same, and was also quick to agree. So with nothing else to discuss, the three queens stood and started to walk towards Heidi's room.